Zhao Yunxiao might not be the most talented in the path of cultivation, but he was still rather confident in himself when it came to most other things.
As a sect librarian, he had naturally done his fair share of reading even when it came to topics that might not seem directly linked to cultivation.
From ancient to contemporary.
From risque to cultured.
From political to social.
From leisure to expository.
Zhao Yunxiao was well versed in literature of all sorts, much more so than most of his seniors in the Black Tortoise Sect.
This trove of general knowledge had often helped him when it came to networking, allowing him to easily establish good relationships with potential connections.
Success in that aspect only spurred him on to continue this habit, and the result of that was clearly showing right now.
Word after word appeared on the table top, a familiar scene in the eyes of the core disciples and elders.
The only difference was that this time, the words were no longer hidden behind a secretive veil.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, it did not take long before Zhao Yunxiao completed the verse.
The golden carp is despised as it struggles against the powerful river flow.
Who would have thought that one day it would transform into a true dragon?
The heavens despises all things as it looks down in all its radiant glow.
Who would have thought that one day it would fall to a challenge?
“This is my suggestion for you, Sister Bing. What do you think about it?” Zhao Yunxiao looked over at Bing Yanrou with a faint smile.
At this point, the core disciples started to exchange glances.
Chen Pingxi’s frown deepened, while Qian Luming narrowed his eyes.
As opposed to being some sort of cultivation advice, as they had originally hoped to see, these words seemed to have come with a completely different meaning altogether.
It might not be obvious to those without context, but these words could easily be construed as a caution of sorts.
If Zhao Yunxiao truly meant it that way, then it was equivalent to warning Bing Yanrou to stop looking down on the younger Xia Wei, or risk getting punished in the future!
“Truly fitting, Brother Zhao,” Bing Yanrou smiled coquettishly, seemingly oblivious to the atmosphere that had turned solemn. “Your wisdom is truly impressive. Let’s go with that.”
“Thank you for your kind suggestion, Brother Zhao,” Chen Pingxi interrupted. “I will personally make sure that the meaning goes through to my junior martial sisters. I guarantee that what you see today will not happen again.”
“Hmm? What might you be referring to, Senior Martial Sister Chen?” Bing Yanrou asked in confusion.
“Be quiet!” Chen Pingxi snapped at Bing Yanrou, causing the latter to jump in fright.
Chen Pingxi might act amiably most of the time, but that did not mean she could not be fierce when she had to.
Bing Yanrou knew this just as well, and immediately lowered her head in indignation.
She was still thinking that the mood was going well. Who knew that her senior martial sister would suddenly act all angry like that?
In her heart, she was even suspecting that Chen Pingxi was being jealous of how well she was connecting with Zhao Yunxiao!
“Let this matter end here then,” Hu Nan rolled up the scroll and passed it over to Chen Pingxi. “And don’t read too much into things. I’m sure Junior Martial Brother Zhao didn’t mean anything special. Am I right, Junior Martial Brother Zhao?”
There was no way that Hu Nan did not catch the underlying meaning behind Zhao Yunxiao’s words either.
But since Chen Pingxi had already given her word that she would handle the matter, the issue was as good as resolved. Considering that, there was no longer a need to harp on the subject.
“Of course, I am purely trying to suggest something that sounds suitable for the painting,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded with a smile. “I apologise if it seems like there’s any kind of underlying meaning. I definitely don’t mean it that way.”
Zhao Yunxiao understood Hu Nan’s intentions, and naturally decided to play along.
“It’s a misunderstanding on my part then,” Chen Pingxi smiled in understanding. “But from the looks of it, has Brother Zhao met Junior Martial Sister Xia before today?”
She asked the question that everyone had been curious about.
All eyes turned towards Zhao Yunxiao, including those from the Black Tortoise Sect.
“I have not met Sister Xia before, but a senior in the sect did tell me to send his regards,” Zhao Yunxiao clasped his fists towards Xia Wei.
A senior?
Everyone’s gazes darted from Zhao Yunxiao to He Luoxuan, then to Xia Wei.
Xia Wei furrowed her brows as well.
Since when did she know any seniors from the Black Tortoise Sect?
The only person she knew was...
“Do you mean... Brother Jun?” Xia Wei asked in an uncertain manner.
“That’s right,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded. “Senior Martial Brother Jun spoke highly of Sister Xia, and I can see why.”
“Brother Jun...? You mean that shady trader?” Bing Yanrou blurted out in disbelief. “That guy actually has some standing in the Black Tortoise Sect?”
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Zhao Yunxiao turned his gaze towards Bing Yanrou immediately, and so did everyone else.
“Junior Martial Sister Bing, do you not know the meaning of being quiet?” Qian Luming felt like rolling his eyes.
“It appears that my Senior Martial Brother Jun has somehow left a bad impression while he was here. For that, I sincerely apologise in his stead,” Zhao Yunxiao raised his wine cup towards Bing Yanrou.
Before anyone could react, Zhao Yunxiao downed the entire cup and took a deep bow towards Bing Yanrou.
And that caused all the core disciples at the table to immediately stand up in alarm.
“Brother Zhao is being too serious!” Chen Pingxi hurriedly said. “Such a thing doesn’t warrant such a grand gesture from Brother Zhao!”
“This has to be a misunderstanding!” Qian Luming quickly added.
“Please rise, Brother Zhao!” Zhou Qin and Cui Junhe said.
Jian Qifa silently glared at Bing Yanrou, who appeared extremely flustered by the sudden commotion.
She never thought that a casual comment like that would result in such a huge reaction!
“Little brother Zhao is taking this too seriously,” it was Ming Leishang who spoke from his seat this time. “As mentioned, there must have been a misunderstanding somewhere, so please rise while we sort things out.”
It would appear that even the elders were alarmed by this huge commotion over at the core disciples’ table.
Then again, that was not too surprising either, especially in the eyes of the core disciples.
In all honesty, nobody here knew who this Senior Martial Brother Jun was.
But for Zhao Yunxiao to be willing to lower himself like this for the sake of this person, they surely had a rather close relationship.
Yet in front of Zhao Yunxiao, Bing Yanrou actually insulted both this person as well as the one whom this person had wanted Zhao Yunxiao to help send his regards to.
It was one thing for her to do so unwittingly when it came to Xia Wei. But Zhao Yunxiao had already clearly mentioned that he was here to act on behalf of this Senior Martial Brother Jun, yet she still made such a serious slip of the tongue.
If one did not know better, they might even think that Bing Yanrou was deliberately trying to cause a rift between the Origin Lake Sect and Zhao Yunxiao!
And with how heavily He Luoxuan seemed to favour Zhao Yunxiao, did that not mean causing a rift between the Origin Lake Sect and the Black Tortoise Sect?
That was a deed deserving of heavy capital punishment!
“Please stand, Brother Zhao! You misunderstood! I didn’t mean anything bad by that!” the panicking Bing Yanrou quickly bowed in return.
“That’s good to hear,” Zhao Yunxiao sounded relieved as he stood back up.
“Bing Yanrou!” Chen Pingxi said coldly.
Bing Yanrou almost jumped upon hearing the prime disciple call out her full name, and hurriedly stepped forward.
“I deeply apologise for the earlier mistake! Please punish me as you see fit!” Bing Yanrou bowed towards Chen Pingxi.
“Please punish us as you see fit!”
Cai Fengluo, Ning Xi, and Xia Wei called out as well, bending their backs while standing right behind her.
They had come over together, so they were willing to share any punishment that had resulted of this.
“Brother Zhao,” Chen Pingxi turned towards Zhao Yunxiao. “Please forgive my foolish junior martial sister for her foolish words. If there is anything that we can do to make up for this, please just say the word.”
“There is nothing to forgive,” Zhao Yunxiao shook his head. “I just hope that nobody was offended by my Senior Martial Brother Jun in the past.”
“I’m sure that is but a mere misunderstanding, isn’t that right, Junior Martial Sister Bing?” Chen Pingxi’s tone was much sterner when speaking to Bing Yanrou.
“Y-Yes, Senior Martial Sister Chen, Brother Zhao! It is my fault for not phrasing this properly!” Bing Yanrou answered without looking up from her deep bow.
“I’m glad to hear that then,” Zhao Yunxiao smiled.
“Hurry up and thank Brother Zhao!” Chen Pingxi ordered.
“Thank you for your magnanimity, Brother Zhao!” the four young ladies did as they were told before standing back up.
“Since it is determined to be a misunderstanding, why don’t we all take a seat and forget about what just happened?” Qian Luming tried to ease the situation.
“That’s right, let’s do that,” Chen Pingxi agreed.
“Please excuse me, but I would like to go for a walk instead,” Zhao Yunxiao said with a faint smile.
“I guess that sounds like a good idea too...” Chen Pingxi forced a smile. “Why don’t you accompany Brother Zhao then, Junior Martial Brother Zhou?”
She knew that Zhou Qin was one of the first to get acquainted with Zhao Yunxiao.
In addition, a cultivation maniac like Zhou Qin was likely to only talk about cultivation matters on the walk, which could serve to distract Zhao Yunxiao from what happened earlier.
“There’s no need to trouble Brother Zhou,” Zhao Yunxiao shook his head before turning towards Xia Wei. “If it is not too much trouble, is it all right for Sister Xia to accompany me this time? I have some words that I would like to talk to you about.”
“M-Me? This...” Xia Wei turned towards Bing Yanrou.
This time, however, she did not get any signs from Bing Yanrou as the latter was busy looking down at the ground.
“Since Brother Zhao wants you to go with him, feel free to go ahead if you wish,” Qian Luming said. “Of course, if you don’t wish to do so, I’m sure Brother Zhao will understand as well.”
“There’s no need to force yourself indeed,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded.
“N-No, I can do that!” Xia Wei quickly shook her head. “Excuse me then, Senior Martial Sister Chen and Senior Martial Sister Bing.”
“Go ahead,” Chen Pingxi answered.
She was the prime disciple.
Since she had given her approval, nobody could say anything against it unless an elder decided to interfere.
“I will be relying on Sister Xia to bring me somewhere worth visiting then,” Zhao Yunxiao said with a smile.
“Mm!” Xia Wei nodded. “This way, please!”
With that, the two decisively walked away from not just the core disciples’ table, but the banquet altogether.
It was not a rare thing to do either.
After all, the banquet itself lasted for hours.
While it was important to be present at the start of the banquet, it was not uncommon for attendees to leave and rejoin the banquet multiple times throughout the night if they had other matters to attend to.
“Let’s not worry about what happened earlier, and have a seat,” Hu Nan finally spoke up at this point.
“Yes, please,” Chen Pingxi nodded with a smile before turning to Bing Yanrou. “Go back and enjoy the rest of the banquet for now. Come look for me tomorrow.”
This time, she had reverted to her usual gentle tone.
“Y-Yes, Senior Martial Sister Chen,” Bing Yanrou timidly answered.
The core disciples settled down as the three young ladies took their leave.
At the same time, they could not help but sneak gazes towards the backs of the leaving Zhao Yunxiao and Xia Wei.
Some wondered what their relationship was like, while others worried about what Xia Wei might tell Zhao Yunxiao.
Nevertheless, there was no use worrying about that now.
Everything would eventually come to light if it was meant to be known.
He Luoxuan watched on in amusement as well, knowing that Zhao Yunxiao had been playing on everyone’s misunderstandings all along.
Of course, if Zhao Yunxiao went overboard in any manner, He Luoxuan would have stepped in to stop him immediately.
But what Zhao Yunxiao did could not be further from going overboard.
Rather than that, he had constantly maintained a position of weakness while interacting with the other disciples.
Even if this position of weakness was nothing but an obvious ruse, this much was still acceptable in his eyes since Zhao Yunxiao was not directly imposing anything upon the members of the Origin Lake Sect, allowing the latter to interpret his actions as they deemed fit.
He Luoxuan could not help but nod in his heart.
This outer disciple might not be good at cultivation, but he was not too bad at turning different situations to his advantage.
In other words, he could potentially be a useful piece for the future!